Reel World

By Devin D. O’Leary

Popcorn and Pop Rock--On Thursday, Aug. 24, at 10:15 p.m., the Guild Cinema will host a special premiere screening of two locally shot music documentaries, “Welcome to Wherever You Are: Albuquerque” and “The Oktober People: Spring Crawl 2006.” The films feature live concert footage of Albuquerque bands The Oktober People, Scenester, Skinnyfat and much more. They also arrive just in time to give a sneak preview of the Alibi’s Fall Crawl 2006 (taking place this Saturday). There is a small cover charge of $3 at the door to help support future films and future music gigs here in Albuquerque.

Toons and Tunes--It’s a good week for local film, apparently, because Brandon Scott Jensen is also taking over the Guild Cinema for a screening of his new animated feature The Face of Joe the Killer on Saturday, Aug. 26. The film spins the story of a fast-food worker who is pushed too far by rude customers and goes on a killing spree. This special edition of the film is reformatted for a theatrical showing and features new animation as well as additional music by award winner Mark Oates. In addition to the screening, there will be live musical performances by Feels Like Sunday, The Blue Room, Good as Dead and Man Born Blind. Tickets are $5 at the door. The show begins at 1 p.m. For more info, visit www.jensenanim.com.

Short But Sweet--It’s time, once again, for the Local Shorts film festival. Local Shorts 4 will take place on Saturday, Aug. 26, at the historic Lobo Theater in Nob Hill where there will be two separate sessions of films. Session One goes from 2 to 3:40 p.m. and is aimed at all audiences. A total of 17 local short films/videos will be screened during this first session. They run the gamut from animation to documentaries to Westerns. There will be a second session from 6 to 8 p.m. This section features 14 locals shorts, some of which may contain material that is not suitable for young children. Horror, crime and punk rock are just a few of the topics in this session. If you can’t make it on Saturday, Local Shorts will screen a special “Best of the Fest” on Sunday, Aug. 28, beginning at 6 p.m. This will be a replay of the top Audience and Movie Maker picks, as voted on Saturday. As usual, profits from Local Shorts will benefit local charity. This year, the festival is helping produce a bilingual magazine intended to promote literacy and encourage authorship. Tickets are a mere $2.50, although additional donations are welcome. For more info, log on to www.localshorts.org.